North Korea is at it again. On November 23rd, 2010 North Korea launched artillery shells onto South Korea’s Yeonpyeong Island. The Island is situatated very close to the North Korean border and is made up of South Korean military installations and a small civilian populations. Two South Korean Marines were killed and dozens were injured. Shortly after the North Korean shells hit the Island, South Korea retaliated, firing back artillery at the North.
The confrontation was sparked by South Korea’s refusal to halt their military drills in disputed waters. North Korea ordered South Korea to stop their military drills, but South Korea refused, prompting North Korea to shell Yeonpyeong Island.
Although this is one possible motive for North Korea’s shelling of South Korea, the attack is most likely linked to the announcement of Kim Jong Un, as the heir to his father Kim Jong II.
Hopefully this attack is not a sign of things to come with the new North Korean leader because this region is highly volatile with North Korea’s possession of nuclear weapons and their close friendship with Communist China. The United States, who has a large military presence in South Korea, must work together with the South Korean government at bureaucratic solutions to keep the peace on the Korean Peninsula.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/11/23/korea-attack-yeonpyeong-island_n_787294.html#s189509
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